1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to substrates such as glass panels and, more specifically, to a liquid spray system for depositing coatings on substrates such as glass panels for architectural or vehicle applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to coat a substrate such as a glass panel using an air atomized spray nozzle to transmit a liquid precursor solution to a surface of the substrate. In particular, it is known to use pyrolytic spray deposition of organometallic compounds onto float glass as it emerges from a furnace float tank. During this process, a standard spray gun nozzle is positioned perpendicular to the surface of the substrate, resulting in overspray buildup on the spray gun nozzle which can then drop off, causing defects on the coated substrate. However, when the spray gun nozzle is angled with respect to the surface of the substrate, the spray head remains clean. The spray gun nozzle is traversed across the substrate. However, in this configuration, it is difficult to obtain good coating uniformity due to a heel region of a spray pattern footprint on the substrate; that is, the higher deposition region nearest to the spray gun nozzle. As a result, attempts have been made to use multiple spray gun nozzles which is undesired.
Although the above spray process has worked, it is desirable to more uniformly randomize the spray pattern near the surface of the substrate in order to produce a more uniform coating. It is also desirable to prevent buildup on the standard spray gun nozzle. It is further desirable to use one standard spray gun nozzle to coat the surface of a substrate.